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My block thingy has a sheave thingy inside and my pulley thingy has a pulley wheel thingy inside, whereas my mast head thingy has four sheave thingies inside and one block thingy outside, for the the spinny thingy.

Now THAT's the spirit!!! (especially as it is Sailaway's post) HAHA!

- CD

12-13-2007 12:48 PM

Idiens

My block thingy has a sheave thingy inside and my pulley thingy has a pulley wheel thingy inside, whereas my mast head thingy has four sheave thingies inside and one block thingy outside, for the the spinny thingy.

12-13-2007 12:43 PM

Cruisingdad

Just call it a thingy. Thingy will cover everything and your mastery of the English language will amaze your friends - both of them. HAHA!

- CD

12-13-2007 09:37 AM

sailingdog

I hate to break it to you...but sheaves and pulleys are synonyms... they have basically the same definition. However, sheave is the word that is more commonly used in nautical settings...but that doesnt' mean that pulley is wrong.

12-12-2007 11:29 PM

JLBJR

I can't resist tossing in my own 2 cents.

Sheaves are used to allow a line or wire to make a directional change of up to 180 degrees, without chafe and with a minimum of friction. Sheaves turn on Axles. Sheaves are not only on boats or ships. These are not to be confused with a Shiv, which are pointy and are found in prison movies.

JLBJR

10-09-2007 12:31 PM

chucklesR

Ya'll quit pulling each other's strings and get along now.

One of the biggest 'problems' I had was teaching my wife why there is a right and wrong way to tie a cleat hitch; she caught me re-tieing one in front of one of her buddies and apparently I em-bare-assed her.

So, I showed her via a 'watch this tangle you tied with come apart' demonstration. Since then she's learned to speak the speak and varnish the teak just like a sailor should.

Newbies should learn, 3000 years of experience can be argued with only to the point the boom hits them on the head as you are saying, "Careful there lad, 'jibe ho' means the helmsman (not helmsperson, helmsman) is about to turn the boat and when he does it means that long stick coming from the mast is about to demonstrate why we call it a 'boom' and not a stick."

10-09-2007 12:06 PM

sailingdog

While the term Sheave is preferred, sheave is a synonym for pulley according to most definitions of both words.

RX Bot. Sorry, you are wrong. part of what makes a sheave a sheave is that it is free-spinning and turns by friction.
what makes it a pulley is that it is driven by something and in turn imparts power to the rope or belt running around it.

Somebody had best alert all the dictionary people, then, because they've got it wrong

Jim

10-09-2007 06:31 AM

arbarnhart

Well, I wanted ta larn my younguns proper an all, but my wife made me promise not ta talk like a sailor in front of them.

I think a lot of passing it along is not getting authoritarian about it; if you do that it comes off as so much intellectual flatulence. I am still learning it as I go and I still often refer to a rope instead of a line or sheet, often on purpose because that is what the person I am speaking to will understand and hand me the length of fiberous material I desire. When there is time, I do explain to the kids (my usual crew) some terminology but the listening window is pretty small.

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